


hey, i've been watching you, dad ain't that cool

by BluebarrieMuzzins



Series: Around the League [28]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Author is not Christian, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Light Angst, M/M, Married Couple, Parent-Child Relationship, Prayer, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Songfic, Swearing Child, it's just a few mentions of characters praying, only because this is a
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29137647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluebarrieMuzzins/pseuds/BluebarrieMuzzins
Summary: “Shit,” Carter grumbled, looking directly at his daddy and papa.They looked at each other, blinking owlishly. Travis focused his attention on the road while Nolan focused his attention on their son.“Where did you learn that word, buckaroo,” Nolan asked, raising his eyebrows in concern.“Daddy,” Carter said, pointing at Travis.
Relationships: Travis Konecny/Nolan Patrick
Series: Around the League [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1666117
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	hey, i've been watching you, dad ain't that cool

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm back with another RPF fic! I'm in the damn feels about what happened with Teeks the other day. So like. I wrote this as a way to cheer myself up. It sorta helped but it also made me sad because I have intense baby fever and no way to actually have a baby right now. So, uh... you win some and you lose some, I guess...? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this! I'm really happy with how it turned out.
> 
> If you found this by Googling yourself, are in this yourself, or know someone in this, please click back. No harm was meant in the creation of this fic. It's fictional and was written as a way for me to cope with a stupid ass decision that AV made the other day.
> 
> This is based on "Watching You" by Rodney Atkins.

Travis was driving, Nolan was sitting in the passenger seat and Carter, their four-year-old son, was sitting in his booster seat in the back. He had his Happy Meal in his hands, munching idly on a couple of french fries. Nolan smiled at him and Carter smiled back, pieces of french fry falling from his mouth. Nolan grimaced as he turned his attention back to the front of the car.

Travis glanced over at Nolan, a somewhat concerned look on his face. “What’s with that face, Patty?”

“Carter smiled and some of his half-chewed french fries fell out of his mouth,” Nolan replied, furrowing his brows and frowning.

“That’s gr–” Travis started but got cut off when he noticed that the traffic light had suddenly shifted from green to red. He slammed on the brakes and looked back at Carter once the car had stopped. He noticed that Carter’s french fries and chicken nuggets had gone flying all over the back of the car. Carter had a small scowl on his face and his arms were crossed over his chest.

_“Shit,”_ Carter grumbled, looking directly at his daddy and papa.

They looked at each other, blinking owlishly. Travis focused his attention on the road while Nolan focused his attention on their son.

“Where did you learn that word, buckaroo,” Nolan asked, raising his eyebrows in concern. 

“Daddy,” Carter said, pointing at Travis.

Travis slouched in his seat as he drove the car through the green light. Nolan side-eyed his husband, drilling holes into his head with his gaze. 

“Travis, what are you teaching our son,” Nolan asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Travis cleared his throat and adjusted his grip on the steering wheel a couple of times. He cast a glance at Nolan and Nolan looked at him pointedly. Nolan heard Travis swallow as he cleared his throat a second time.

“Well,” Nolan prompted again, motioning his hand in such a way that suggested he wanted an answer. 

“The wrong things,” Travis said, voice quiet and defeated.

“You think?”

“I wanna be like you and daddy,” Carter chimed in, pointing between Nolan and Travis

Nolan looked back at him and noticed that he had the straw from his chocolate milk between his teeth. He was chewing on it idly. 

“I wanna be tall like papa," he pointed to Nolan, a bright smile on his face, "I wanna play hockey like both of you. I wanna have matching clothes and cowboy boots like daddy.” He pointed to Travis and then to his feet, kicking them back and forth in the process.

Nolan’s expression softened when he noticed the genuine smile on Carter’s face. He looked beyond happy at the prospect of growing up to be just like his daddy and papa and it was melting his heart. 

Nolan looked over at Travis and saw him glancing up at the rearview mirror. He had a smile and a soft expression to match his husband’s on his face; that told Nolan that he was looking at Carter’s smile in the reflection of the mirror.

When Travis’ eyes shifted back to the road, Nolan thought he saw a few stray tears fall down his cheeks. Travis made no move to wipe his cheeks or his eyes so Nolan made no mention of what he thought he had witnessed. Travis always kept his emotions guarded and exposing them right now didn’t seem appropriate.

For the remainder of the drive home, Carter giggled to himself as he nibbled and sucked on the straw from his chocolate milk. Nolan would occasionally look at him and see how happy he looked. Then, he would look at Travis and see how he was pointedly ignoring his gaze. Travis would sneak glances at their son and smile when Carter noticed him looking, Carter smiling back with his toothy grin.

Once they returned home, Travis excused himself to the garage while Nolan brought Carter inside to prepare him for bedtime. Before he could wrangle Carter upstairs, he sneaked over to the hall door that led to the garage and peeked in on what Travis was doing. Nolan walked over a moment later and stood beside his son.

Travis was kneeling in front of his workbench, head bowed. Nolan found that odd because Travis had never been known to be the religious type. Seeing him pray was a new concept for him. 

Carter tugged on Nolan’s shirt; Nolan looked down at his son. He had a sideways smile on his face and was pointing at Travis.

“What’s daddy doing?” He asked.

“Praying,” Nolan replied, ruffling Carter’s hair. “It’s when you ask God to help you with something.”

Carter nodded, grabbing his papa’s hand. He smiled at Nolan and started dragging him toward the stairs.

“I’m ready for bath time now.” 

Nolan ruffled Carter’s hair again before he allowed his son to drag him through the house to the bathroom upstairs. The bath went quickly and effortlessly. Carter never put up much of a fight when he was willing to take one. 

As Nolan was tucking Carter into bed, Travis walked into the room and flicked on Carter’s Scooby-Doo night light. Carter smiled and wiggled his way out of the bed. Nolan was about to scold him until he saw him get on his knees and bow his head. Nolan stood from the bed and walked to stand beside his husband.

“Dear God,” Carter started, peaking over at his daddy and papa. They both gave him a thumbs up. Carter smiled happily before continuing. “My name is Carter Konecny. I was wondering if you could help my daddy and papa win a Stanley Cup? They want one and it would make them, Uncle Chase, Aunt Aimee, Aunt Madison, my grandparents, and I happy. Thank you!”

Nolan glanced at Travis and saw that his eyes appeared to be glassy. Nolan leaned his head on top of Travis’ head. Travis huffed a shaky breath before he wrapped an arm around his husband, squeezing Nolan’s upper arm gently.

“Where’d you learn that, buddy?” Travis asked voice strained. 

“From watching you, daddy,” Carter responded as he crawled back into his bed. “Ask papa. He’ll tell you.”

Travis looked up at Nolan; Nolan nodded, a soft smile on his face. 

“He saw you in the garage,” Nolan said, turning his head and pressing a kiss to Travis’ temple. “He asked what you were doing, so I explained it to him.”

Travis smiled, allowing a few tears to fall down his cheeks. Nolan reached up and wiped them away for his husband, soothing his thumbs against his cheeks in the process. Travis hummed, dropping his head against Nolan’s shoulder.

Carter crawled out of bed for a second time. He made his way across the room, hugging his daddy and papa at the same time when he reached them. Nolan and Travis both dropped an arm onto his shoulder, squeezing gently.

Nolan looked down at Travis and saw that the tears were falling steadily down his cheeks. Nolan leaned down slightly and kissed his temple, smiling when he felt Travis relax a little.

“My little bear is growing up,” Travis said, glancing at Carter and then looking at his husband. Travis heaved a shaky breath, squeezing his eyes shut. Nolan brought one of his hands up and wiped some of his husband’s tears away, caressing his cheek gently as he went. “I don’t want my little bear to grow up.”

Carter stepped back from the hug, looking at Travis. Carter had a gigantic smile on his face. 

“Maybe I’m not a little bear anymore but I am a mini daddy!”

Nolan saw the moment Travis let loose and allowed himself to show every emotion he normally held back. He knelt and wrapped Carter in a proper hug, dropping his head on top of Carter’s head. Travis sobbed as he held onto Carter tightly, not allowing his son to let go. 

When he finally allowed Carter to pull back, Carter looked at Travis with a confident smile.

“It’s okay, daddy,” he said, wiping some of Travis’ tears away. “I can be strong enough for the both of us.”


End file.
